Techniques for blockage sensor assisted beam management

ABSTRACT

Various aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication. In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) may transmit a monitoring signal associated with one or more antennas. The UE may identify, based at least in part on the monitoring signal, a blockage associated with the one or more antennas. The UE may perform a beam search using a decreased frequency of occurrence of tracking occasions for the one or more antennas based at least in part on the identification of the blockage associated with the one or more antennas. Numerous other aspects are provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This Patent Application claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 63/198,581, filed on Oct. 28, 2020, entitled “TECHNIQUESFOR BLOCKAGE SENSOR ASSISTED BEAM MANAGEMENT,” and assigned to theassignee hereof. The disclosure of the prior Application is consideredpart of and is incorporated by reference into this Patent Application.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wirelesscommunication and to techniques and apparatuses for blockage sensorassisted beam management.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide varioustelecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging,and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employmultiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication withmultiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth,transmit power, or the like). Examples of such multiple-accesstechnologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, timedivision multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency-division multipleaccess (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency-division multiple access(OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency-division multiple access(SC-FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multipleaccess (TD-SCDMA) systems, and Long Term Evolution (LTE).LTE/LTE-Advanced is a set of enhancements to the Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by theThird Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

A wireless network may include a number of base stations (BSs) that cansupport communication for a number of user equipment (UEs). A UE maycommunicate with a BS via the downlink and uplink. The downlink (orforward link) refers to the communication link from the BS to the UE,and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link fromthe UE to the BS. As will be described in more detail herein, a BS maybe referred to as a Node B, a gNB, an access point (AP), a radio head, atransmit receive point (TRP), a New Radio (NR) BS, a 5G Node B, or thelike.

The above multiple access technologies have been adopted in varioustelecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enablesdifferent user equipment to communicate on a municipal, national,regional, and even global level. NR, which may also be referred to as5G, is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated bythe 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internetaccess by improving spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improvingservices, making use of new spectrum, and better integrating with otheropen standards using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)with a cyclic prefix (CP) (CP-OFDM) on the downlink (DL), using CP-OFDMand/or SC-FDM (e.g., also known as discrete Fourier transform spreadOFDM (DFT-s-OFDM)) on the uplink (UL), as well as supportingbeamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology,and carrier aggregation. As the demand for mobile broadband accesscontinues to increase, further improvements in LTE, NR, and other radioaccess technologies remain useful.

SUMMARY

In some aspects, a method of wireless communication performed by a UEincludes monitoring one or more antennas; identifying a blockageassociated with the one or more antennas based at least in part on themonitoring of the one or more antennas and based at least in part on amonitoring signal transmitted using the one or more antennas; andperforming a beam search based at least in part on the identification ofthe blockage associated with the one or more antennas.

In some aspects, the performance of the beam search is to identify aserving beam for the UE.

In some aspects, the performance of the beam search based at least inpart on the identification of the blockage associated with the one ormore antennas further comprises reducing one or more weights associatedwith the one or more antennas for the beam search.

In some aspects, the one or more weights indicate a number of trackingopportunities for the one or more antennas in the beam search.

In some aspects, performance of the beam search based at least in parton the identification of the blockage associated with the one or moreantennas further comprises skipping one or more tracking opportunitiesassociated with the one or more antennas based at least in part on theblockage.

In some aspects, no beam measurement is performed by the UE in the oneor more tracking opportunities based at least in part on skipping theone or more tracking opportunities.

In some aspects, the skipping of the one or more tracking opportunitiescomprises performing a beam measurement associated with a differentantenna than the one or more antennas in the one or more trackingopportunities.

In some aspects, the skipping of the one or more tracking opportunitiescomprises delaying a beam measurement associated with the one or moreantennas in the one or more tracking opportunities.

In some aspects, the identification of the blockage is based at least inpart on a signal from a blockage sensor of the UE.

In some aspects, the performance of the beam search is based at least inpart on the UE being associated with a connected-mode discontinuousreception cycle.

In some aspects, a UE for wireless communication includes a memory andone or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processorsconfigured to: monitor one or more antennas; identify a blockageassociated with the one or more antennas based at least in part on themonitoring of the one or more antennas and based at least in part on amonitoring signal transmitted using the one or more antennas; andperform a beam search based at least in part on the identification ofthe blockage associated with the one or more antennas.

In some aspects, the performance of the beam search is to identify aserving beam for the UE.

In some aspects, the one or more processors, when performing the beamsearch based at least in part on the identification of the blockageassociated with the one or more antennas, are configured to reduce oneor more weights associated with the one or more antennas for the beamsearch.

In some aspects, the one or more weights indicate a number of trackingopportunities for the one or more antennas in the beam search.

In some aspects, the one or more processors, when performing the beamsearch based at least in part on the identification of the blockageassociated with the one or more antennas, are configured to skip one ormore tracking opportunities associated with the one or more antennasbased at least in part on the blockage.

In some aspects, no beam measurement is performed by the UE in the oneor more tracking opportunities based at least in part on skipping theone or more tracking opportunities.

In some aspects, the one or more processors, when skipping of the one ormore tracking opportunities, are configured to perform a beammeasurement associated with a different antenna than the one or moreantennas in the one or more tracking opportunities.

In some aspects, the one or more processors, when skipping of the one ormore tracking opportunities, are configured to delay a beam measurementassociated with the one or more antennas in the one or more trackingopportunities.

In some aspects, the identification of the blockage is based at least inpart on a signal from a blockage sensor of the UE.

In some aspects, the performance of the beam search is based at least inpart on the UE being associated with a connected-mode discontinuousreception cycle.

In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a setof instructions for wireless communication includes one or moreinstructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a UE,cause the UE to: monitor one or more antennas; identify a blockageassociated with the one or more antennas based at least in part on themonitoring of the one or more antennas and based at least in part on amonitoring signal transmitted using the one or more antennas; andperform a beam search based at least in part on the identification ofthe blockage associated with the one or more antennas.

In some aspects, the performance of the beam search is to identify aserving beam for the UE.

In some aspects, the one or more instructions cause the UE to reduce oneor more weights associated with the one or more antennas for the beamsearch.

In some aspects, the one or more weights indicate a number of trackingopportunities for the one or more antennas in the beam search.

In some aspects, the one or more instructions cause the UE to skip oneor more tracking opportunities associated with the one or more antennasbased at least in part on the blockage.

In some aspects, no beam measurement is performed by the UE in the oneor more tracking opportunities based at least in part on skipping theone or more tracking opportunities.

In some aspects, the one or more instructions cause the UE to perform abeam measurement associated with a different antenna than the one ormore antennas in the one or more tracking opportunities.

In some aspects, the one or more instructions cause the UE to delay abeam measurement associated with the one or more antennas in the one ormore tracking opportunities.

In some aspects, the identification of the blockage is based at least inpart on a signal from a blockage sensor of the UE.

In some aspects, the performance of the beam search is based at least inpart on the UE being associated with a connected-mode discontinuousreception cycle.

In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication includes meansfor monitoring one or more antennas; means for identifying a blockageassociated with the one or more antennas based at least in part on themonitoring of the one or more antennas and based at least in part on amonitoring signal transmitted using the one or more antennas; and meansfor performing a beam search based at least in part on theidentification of the blockage associated with the one or more antennas.

In some aspects, the performance of the beam search is to identify aserving beam for the apparatus.

In some aspects, the means for performance of the beam search based atleast in part on the identification of the blockage associated with theone or more antennas further comprises means for reducing one or moreweights associated with the one or more antennas for the beam search.

In some aspects, the one or more weights indicate a number of trackingopportunities for the one or more antennas in the beam search.

In some aspects, the means for performance of the beam search based atleast in part on the identification of the blockage associated with theone or more antennas further comprises means for skipping one or moretracking opportunities associated with the one or more antennas based atleast in part on the blockage.

In some aspects, no beam measurement is performed by the UE in the oneor more tracking opportunities based at least in part on skipping theone or more tracking opportunities.

In some aspects, the means for skipping of the one or more trackingopportunities comprises means for performing a beam measurementassociated with a different antenna than the one or more antennas in theone or more tracking opportunities.

In some aspects, the means for skipping of the one or more trackingopportunities comprises means for delaying a beam measurement associatedwith the one or more antennas in the one or more tracking opportunities.

In some aspects, the identification of the blockage is based at least inpart on a signal from a blockage sensor of the UE.

In some aspects, the performance of the beam search is based at least inpart on the UE being associated with a connected-mode discontinuousreception cycle.

Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wirelesscommunication performed by a user equipment (UE). The method may includetransmitting a monitoring signal associated with one or more antennas ofthe UE. The method may include identifying, based at least in part onthe monitoring signal, a blockage associated with the one or moreantennas. The method may include performing a beam search using adecreased frequency of occurrence of tracking occasions for the one ormore antennas based at least in part on the identification of theblockage associated with the one or more antennas.

Some aspects described herein relate to a user equipment (UE) forwireless communication. The user equipment may include a memory and oneor more processors coupled to the memory. The one or more processors maybe configured to transmit a monitoring signal associated with one ormore antennas. The one or more processors may be configured to identify,based at least in part on the monitoring signal, a blockage associatedwith the one or more antennas. The one or more processors may beconfigured to perform a beam search using a decreased frequency ofoccurrence of tracking occasions for the one or more antennas based atleast in part on the identification of the blockage associated with theone or more antennas.

Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium that stores a set of instructions for wirelesscommunication by a user equipment (UE). The set of instructions, whenexecuted by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE totransmit a monitoring signal associated with one or more antennas. Theset of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the UE,may cause the UE to identify, based at least in part on the monitoringsignal, a blockage associated with the one or more antennas. The set ofinstructions, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, maycause the UE to perform a beam search using a decreased frequency ofoccurrence of tracking occasions for the one or more antennas based atleast in part on the identification of the blockage associated with theone or more antennas.

Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wirelesscommunication. The apparatus may include means for transmitting amonitoring signal associated with one or more antennas. The apparatusmay include means for identifying, based at least in part on themonitoring signal, a blockage associated with the one or more antennas.The apparatus may include means for performing a beam search using adecreased frequency of occurrence of tracking occasions for the one ormore antennas based at least in part on the identification of theblockage associated with the one or more antennas.

Aspects generally include a method, apparatus, system, computer programproduct, non-transitory computer-readable medium, user equipment, basestation, wireless communication device, and/or processing system assubstantially described herein with reference to and as illustrated bythe drawings and specification.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of examples according to the disclosure in order that thedetailed description that follows may be better understood. Additionalfeatures and advantages will be described hereinafter. The conceptionand specific examples disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis formodifying or designing other structures for carrying out the samepurposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do notdepart from the scope of the appended claims. Characteristics of theconcepts disclosed herein, both their organization and method ofoperation, together with associated advantages will be better understoodfrom the following description when considered in connection with theaccompanying figures. Each of the figures is provided for the purposesof illustration and description, and not as a definition of the limitsof the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the above-recited features of the present disclosure can beunderstood in detail, a more particular description, briefly summarizedabove, may be had by reference to aspects, some of which are illustratedin the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appendeddrawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of this disclosure andare therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for thedescription may admit to other equally effective aspects. The samereference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similarelements.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network, inaccordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a base station incommunication with a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, inaccordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a transmit (Tx) chain anda receive (Rx) chain of a UE 120, in accordance with the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a UE associated withmultiple antenna modules, in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of signaling associated withperforming a beam search based at least in part on a blockage sensor, inaccordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of tracking occasions for abeam search, in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, forexample, by a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example apparatus for wirelesscommunication, in accordance with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of the disclosure are described more fully hereinafterwith reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may,however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construedas limited to any specific structure or function presented throughoutthis disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that thisdisclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey thescope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on theteachings herein one skilled in the art should appreciate that the scopeof the disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosuredisclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or combined withany other aspect of the disclosure. For example, an apparatus may beimplemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspectsset forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intendedto cover such an apparatus or method which is practiced using otherstructure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition toor other than the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. Itshould be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed hereinmay be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented withreference to various apparatuses and techniques. These apparatuses andtechniques will be described in the following detailed description andillustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules,components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, or the like(collectively referred to as “elements”). These elements may beimplemented using hardware, software, or combinations thereof. Whethersuch elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon theparticular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem.

It should be noted that while aspects may be described herein usingterminology commonly associated with a 5G or NR radio access technology(RAT), aspects of the present disclosure can be applied to other RATs,such as a 3G RAT, a 4G RAT, and/or a RAT subsequent to 5G (e.g., 6G).

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network 100,in accordance with the present disclosure. The wireless network 100 maybe or may include elements of a 5G (NR) network and/or an LTE network,among other examples. The wireless network 100 may include a number ofbase stations 110 (shown as BS 110 a, BS 110 b, BS 110 c, and BS 110 d)and other network entities. A base station (BS) is an entity thatcommunicates with user equipment (UEs) and may also be referred to as anNR BS, a Node B, a gNB, a 5G node B (NB), an access point, a transmitreceive point (TRP), or the like. Each BS may provide communicationcoverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term “cell” canrefer to a coverage area of a BS and/or a BS subsystem serving thiscoverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

A BS may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, afemto cell, and/or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover arelatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius)and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. Apico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allowunrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. A femto cell maycover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allowrestricted access by UEs having association with the femto cell (e.g.,UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). A BS for a macro cell may bereferred to as a macro BS. ABS for a pico cell may be referred to as apico BS. ABS for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto BS or a homeBS. In the example shown in FIG. 1 , a BS 110 a may be a macro BS for amacro cell 102 a, a BS 110 b may be a pico BS for a pico cell 102 b, anda BS 110 c may be a femto BS for a femto cell 102 c. A BS may supportone or multiple (e.g., three) cells. The terms “eNB”, “base station”,“NR BS”, “gNB”, “TRP”, “AP”, “node B”, “5G NB”, and “cell” may be usedinterchangeably herein.

In some aspects, a cell may not necessarily be stationary, and thegeographic area of the cell may move according to the location of amobile BS. In some aspects, the BSs may be interconnected to one anotherand/or to one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in thewireless network 100 through various types of backhaul interfaces, suchas a direct physical connection or a virtual network, using any suitabletransport network.

Wireless network 100 may also include relay stations. A relay station isan entity that can receive a transmission of data from an upstreamstation (e.g., a BS or a UE) and send a transmission of the data to adownstream station (e.g., a UE or a BS). A relay station may also be aUE that can relay transmissions for other UEs. In the example shown inFIG. 1 , a relay BS 110 d may communicate with macro BS 110 a and a UE120 d in order to facilitate communication between BS 110 a and UE 120d. A relay BS may also be referred to as a relay station, a relay basestation, a relay, or the like.

Wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includes BSs ofdifferent types, such as macro BSs, pico BSs, femto BSs, relay BSs, orthe like. These different types of BSs may have different transmit powerlevels, different coverage areas, and different impacts on interferencein wireless network 100. For example, macro BSs may have a high transmitpower level (e.g., 5 to 40 watts) whereas pico BSs, femto BSs, and relayBSs may have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1 to 2 watts).

A network controller 130 may couple to a set of BSs and may providecoordination and control for these BSs. Network controller 130 maycommunicate with the BSs via a backhaul. The BSs may also communicatewith one another, e.g., directly or indirectly via a wireless orwireline backhaul.

UEs 120 (e.g., 120 a, 120 b, 120 c) may be dispersed throughout wirelessnetwork 100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. A UE may also bereferred to as an access terminal, a terminal, a mobile station, asubscriber unit, a station, or the like. A UE may be a cellular phone(e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wirelessmodem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptopcomputer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, atablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook,a medical device or equipment, biometric sensors/devices, wearabledevices (smart watches, smart clothing, smart glasses, smart wristbands, smart jewelry (e.g., smart ring, smart bracelet)), anentertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satelliteradio), a vehicular component or sensor, smart meters/sensors,industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device,or any other suitable device that is configured to communicate via awireless or wired medium.

Some UEs may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) or evolvedor enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC and eMTC UEsinclude, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters,monitors, and/or location tags, that may communicate with a basestation, another device (e.g., remote device), or some other entity. Awireless node may provide, for example, connectivity for or to a network(e.g., a wide area network such as Internet or a cellular network) via awired or wireless communication link. Some UEs may be consideredInternet-of-Things (IoT) devices, and/or may be implemented as NB-IoT(narrowband internet of things) devices. Some UEs may be considered aCustomer Premises Equipment (CPE). UE 120 may be included inside ahousing that houses components of UE 120, such as processor componentsand/or memory components. In some aspects, the processor components andthe memory components may be coupled together. For example, theprocessor components (e.g., one or more processors) and the memorycomponents (e.g., a memory) may be operatively coupled, communicativelycoupled, electronically coupled, and/or electrically coupled.

In general, any number of wireless networks may be deployed in a givengeographic area. Each wireless network may support a particular RAT andmay operate on one or more frequencies. A RAT may also be referred to asa radio technology, an air interface, or the like. A frequency may alsobe referred to as a carrier, a frequency channel, or the like. Eachfrequency may support a single RAT in a given geographic area in orderto avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. Insome cases, NR or 5G RAT networks may be deployed.

In some aspects, two or more UEs 120 (e.g., shown as UE 120 a and UE 120e) may communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (e.g.,without using a base station 110 as an intermediary to communicate withone another). For example, the UEs 120 may communicate usingpeer-to-peer (P2P) communications, device-to-device (D2D)communications, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocol (e.g., which mayinclude a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocol or avehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocol), and/or a mesh network. Inthis case, the UE 120 may perform scheduling operations, resourceselection operations, and/or other operations described elsewhere hereinas being performed by the base station 110.

Devices of wireless network 100 may communicate using theelectromagnetic spectrum, which may be subdivided based on frequency orwavelength into various classes, bands, channels, or the like. Forexample, devices of wireless network 100 may communicate using anoperating band having a first frequency range (FR1), which may span from410 MHz to 7.125 GHz, and/or may communicate using an operating bandhaving a second frequency range (FR2), which may span from 24.25 GHz to52.6 GHz. The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are sometimes referred toas mid-band frequencies. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6GHz, FR1 is often referred to as a “sub-6 GHz” band. Similarly, FR2 isoften referred to as a “millimeter wave” band despite being differentfrom the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz) which isidentified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a“millimeter wave” band. Thus, unless specifically stated otherwise, itshould be understood that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like, if usedherein, may broadly represent frequencies less than 6 GHz, frequencieswithin FR1, and/or mid-band frequencies (e.g., greater than 7.125 GHz).Similarly, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understoodthat the term “millimeter wave” or the like, if used herein, may broadlyrepresent frequencies within the EHF band, frequencies within FR2,and/or mid-band frequencies (e.g., less than 24.25 GHz). It iscontemplated that the frequencies included in FR1 and FR2 may bemodified, and techniques described herein are applicable to thosemodified frequency ranges.

As indicated above, FIG. 1 is provided as an example. Other examples maydiffer from what is described with regard to FIG. 1 .

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example 200 of a base station 110 incommunication with a UE 120 in a wireless network 100, in accordancewith the present disclosure. Base station 110 may be equipped with Tantennas 234 a through 234 t, and UE 120 may be equipped with R antennas252 a through 252 r, where in general T≥1 and R≥1.

At base station 110, a transmit processor 220 may receive data from adata source 212 for one or more UEs, select one or more modulation andcoding schemes (MCS) for each UE based at least in part on channelquality indicators (CQIs) received from the UE, process (e.g., encodeand modulate) the data for each UE based at least in part on the MCS(s)selected for the UE, and provide data symbols for all UEs. Transmitprocessor 220 may also process system information (e.g., for semi-staticresource partitioning information (SRPI)) and control information (e.g.,CQI requests, grants, and/or upper layer signaling) and provide overheadsymbols and control symbols. Transmit processor 220 may also generatereference symbols for reference signals (e.g., a cell-specific referencesignal (CRS) or a demodulation reference signal (DMRS)) andsynchronization signals (e.g., a primary synchronization signal (PSS) ora secondary synchronization signal (SSS)). A transmit (TX)multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatialprocessing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols,the overhead symbols, and/or the reference symbols, if applicable, andmay provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MODs) 232 a through232 t. Each modulator 232 may process a respective output symbol stream(e.g., for OFDM) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 232may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, andupconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. Tdownlink signals from modulators 232 a through 232 t may be transmittedvia T antennas 234 a through 234 t, respectively.

At UE 120, antennas 252 a through 252 r may receive the downlink signalsfrom base station 110 and/or other base stations and may providereceived signals to demodulators (DEMODs) 254 a through 254 r,respectively. Each demodulator 254 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify,downconvert, and digitize) a received signal to obtain input samples.Each demodulator 254 may further process the input samples (e.g., forOFDM) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256 may obtainreceived symbols from all R demodulators 254 a through 254 r, performMIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and providedetected symbols. A receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulateand decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE 120 to adata sink 260, and provide decoded control information and systeminformation to a controller/processor 280. The term“controller/processor” may refer to one or more controllers, one or moreprocessors, or a combination thereof. A channel processor may determinea reference signal received power (RSRP) parameter, a received signalstrength indicator (RSSI) parameter, a reference signal received quality(RSRQ) parameter, an/or a CQI parameter, among other examples. In someaspects, one or more components of UE 120 may be included in a housing284.

Network controller 130 may include communication unit 294,controller/processor 290, and memory 292. Network controller 130 mayinclude, for example, one or more devices in a core network. Networkcontroller 130 may communicate with base station 110 via communicationunit 294.

Antennas (e.g., antennas 234 a through 234 t and/or antennas 252 athrough 252 r) may include, or may be included within, one or moreantenna panels, antenna groups, sets of antenna elements, and/or antennaarrays, among other examples. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a setof antenna elements, and/or an antenna array may include one or moreantenna elements. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antennaelements, and/or an antenna array may include a set of coplanar antennaelements and/or a set of non-coplanar antenna elements. An antennapanel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, and/or an antennaarray may include antenna elements within a single housing and/orantenna elements within multiple housings. An antenna panel, an antennagroup, a set of antenna elements, and/or an antenna array may includeone or more antenna elements coupled to one or more transmission and/orreception components, such as one or more components of FIG. 2 .

On the uplink, at UE 120, a transmit processor 264 may receive andprocess data from a data source 262 and control information (e.g., forreports that include RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, and/or CQI) fromcontroller/processor 280. Transmit processor 264 may also generatereference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols fromtransmit processor 264 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 266 ifapplicable, further processed by modulators 254 a through 254 r (e.g.,for DFT-s-OFDM or CP-OFDM), and transmitted to base station 110. In someaspects, a modulator and a demodulator (e.g., MOD/DEMOD 254) of the UE120 may be included in a modem of the UE 120. In some aspects, the UE120 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combinationof antenna(s) 252, modulators and/or demodulators 254, MIMO detector256, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, and/or TX MIMOprocessor 266. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g.,controller/processor 280) and memory 282 to perform aspects of any ofthe methods described herein.

At base station 110, the uplink signals from UE 120 and other UEs may bereceived by antennas 234, processed by demodulators 232, detected by aMIMO detector 236 if applicable, and further processed by a receiveprocessor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by UE120. Receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to a data sink239 and the decoded control information to controller/processor 240.Base station 110 may include communication unit 244 and communicate tonetwork controller 130 via communication unit 244. Base station 110 mayinclude a scheduler 246 to schedule UEs 120 for downlink and/or uplinkcommunications. In some aspects, a modulator and a demodulator (e.g.,MOD/DEMOD 232) of the base station 110 may be included in a modem of thebase station 110. In some aspects, the base station 110 includes atransceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of antenna(s)234, modulators and/or demodulators 232, MIMO detector 236, receiveprocessor 238, transmit processor 220, and/or TX MIMO processor 230. Thetransceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller/processor 240)and memory 242 to perform aspects of any of the methods describedherein.

Controller/processor 240 of base station 110, controller/processor 280of UE 120, and/or any other component(s) of FIG. 2 may perform one ormore techniques associated with blockage sensor assisted beammanagement, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example,controller/processor 240 of base station 110, controller/processor 280of UE 120, and/or any other component(s) of FIG. 2 may perform or directoperations of, for example, process 700 of FIG. 7 and/or other processesas described herein. Memories 242 and 282 may store data and programcodes for base station 110 and UE 120, respectively. In some aspects,memory 242 and/or memory 282 may include a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., codeand/or program code) for wireless communication. For example, the one ormore instructions, when executed (e.g., directly, or after compiling,converting, and/or interpreting) by one or more processors of the basestation 110 and/or the UE 120, may cause the one or more processors, theUE 120, and/or the base station 110 to perform or direct operations of,for example, process 700 of FIG. 7 and/or other processes as describedherein. In some aspects, executing instructions may include running theinstructions, converting the instructions, compiling the instructions,and/or interpreting the instructions.

In some aspects, UE 120 may include means for monitoring one or moreantennas, means for identifying a blockage associated with the one ormore antennas based at least in part on the monitoring of the one ormore antennas and based at least in part on a monitoring signaltransmitted using the one or more antennas, means for performing a beamsearch based at least in part on the identification of the blockageassociated with the one or more antennas, and/or the like. In someaspects, such means may include one or more components of UE 120described in connection with FIG. 2 , such as controller/processor 280,transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, MOD 254, antenna 252,DEMOD 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, and/or the like.

As indicated above, FIG. 2 is provided as an example. Other examples maydiffer from what is described with regard to FIG. 2 .

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example 300 of a transmit (Tx) chain302 and a receive (Rx) chain 304 of a UE 120, in accordance with thepresent disclosure. In some aspects, one or more components of Tx chain302 may be implemented in transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266,MOD/DEMOD 254, controller/processor 280, and/or the like, as describedabove in connection with FIG. 2 . In some aspects, Tx chain 302 may beimplemented in UE 120 for transmitting data 306 (e.g., uplink data, anuplink reference signal, uplink control information, and/or the like) tobase station 110 on an uplink channel. In some aspects, a Tx chain 302or an Rx chain 304 may be associated with an antenna module (e.g., shownin FIG. 4 ). For example, the UE 120 may have a respective Tx chain 302and a respective Rx chain 304 for each antenna module of the UE 120. Insome aspects, a Tx chain 302 and/or an Rx chain 304 may be associatedwith multiple antenna modules. In some aspects, an antenna module may beassociated with multiple Tx chains 302 and/or multiple Rx chains 304.

An encoder 307 may alter a signal (e.g., a bitstream) 303 into data 306.Data 306 to be transmitted is provided from encoder 307 as input to aserial-to-parallel (S/P) converter 308. In some aspects, S/P converter308 may split the transmission data into N parallel data streams 310.

The N parallel data streams 310 may then be provided as input to amapper 312. Mapper 312 may map the N parallel data streams 310 onto Nconstellation points. The mapping may be done using a modulationconstellation, such as binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadraturephase-shift keying (QPSK), 8 phase-shift keying (8PSK), quadratureamplitude modulation (QAM), etc. Thus, mapper 312 may output N parallelsymbol streams 316, each symbol stream 316 corresponding to one of Northogonal subcarriers of an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT)component 320. These N parallel symbol streams 316 are represented inthe frequency domain and may be converted into N parallel time domainsample streams 318 by IFFT component 320.

In some aspects, N parallel modulations in the frequency domaincorrespond to N modulation symbols in the frequency domain, which areequal to N mapping and N-point IFFT in the frequency domain, which areequal to one (useful) OFDM symbol in the time domain, which are equal toN samples in the time domain. One OFDM symbol in the time domain, Ns, isequal to Ncp (the number of guard samples per OFDM symbol)+N (the numberof useful samples per OFDM symbol).

The N parallel time domain sample streams 318 may be converted into anOFDM/OFDMA symbol stream 322 by a parallel-to-serial (P/S) converter324. A guard insertion component 326 may insert a guard interval betweensuccessive OFDM/OFDMA symbols in the OFDM/OFDMA symbol stream 322. Theoutput of guard insertion component 326 may then be upconverted to adesired transmit frequency band by a radio frequency (RF) front end 328.An antenna 330 may then transmit the resulting signal 332.

In some aspects, Rx chain 304 may utilize OFDM/OFDMA. In some aspects,one or more components of Rx chain 304 may be implemented in receiveprocessor 258, MIMO detector 256, MOD/DEMOD 254, controller/processor280, and/or the like, as described above in connection with FIG. 2 . Insome aspects, Rx chain 304 may be implemented in UE 120 for receivingdata 306 (e.g., downlink data, a downlink reference signal, downlinkcontrol information, and/or the like) from base station 110 on adownlink channel.

A transmitted signal 332 is shown traveling over a wireless channel 334from Tx chain 302 to Rx chain 304. When a signal 332′ is received by anantenna 330′, the received signal 332′ may be downconverted to abaseband signal by an RF front end 328′. A guard removal component 326′may then remove the guard interval that was inserted between OFDM/OFDMAsymbols by guard insertion component 326.

The output of guard removal component 326′ may be provided to an S/Pconverter 324′. The output may include an OFDM/OFDMA symbol stream 322′,and S/P converter 324′ may divide the OFDM/OFDMA symbol stream 322′ intoN parallel time-domain symbol streams 318′, each of which corresponds toone of the N orthogonal subcarriers. A fast Fourier transform (FFT)component 320′ may convert the N parallel time-domain symbol streams318′ into the frequency domain and output N parallel frequency-domainsymbol streams 316′.

A demapper 312′ may perform the inverse of the symbol mapping operationthat was performed by mapper 312, thereby outputting N parallel datastreams 310′. A P/S converter 308′ may combine the N parallel datastreams 310′ into a single data stream 306′. Ideally, data stream 306′corresponds to data 306 that was provided as input to Tx chain 302. Datastream 306′ may be decoded into a decoded data stream 303′ by decoder307′.

In some aspects, UE 120 may include a blockage sensor 335. Blockagesensor 335 may facilitate sensing so that UE 120 can determine whetheran antenna module of UE 120 is blocked. Antenna modules are described inmore detail in connection with FIG. 4 . In one example, an antennamodule may be blocked by a user of UE 120, such as by the user's body.In some aspects, blockage sensor 335 may be implemented as part of amodem of UE 120. In some aspects, blockage sensor 335 may be implementedas part of a Tx chain or an Rx chain of UE 120. In some aspects,blockage sensor 335 may be implemented as part of an antenna module(e.g., blockage sensor 335 may include a component that is part of theantenna module). Blockage sensor 335 may be referred to as a proximitysensor.

Blockage sensor 335 may cause a transmit antenna (e.g., an antennamodule) to transmit a monitoring signal. A monitoring signal may includeany signal transmittable by a UE 120. Blockage sensor 335 may monitorfor the monitoring signal on a reception antenna. Based at least in parton transmitting the monitoring signal on the transmit antenna andmonitoring for the monitoring signal on the reception antenna, blockagesensor 335 can determine whether a blockage is detected. For example, ablockage may cause a detectable condition at the reception antenna, suchas a reflection of the monitoring signal, a modification of themonitoring signal, a measurement value of the monitoring signal thatsatisfies a threshold, or the like. In some aspects, a reception antennamay receive a monitoring signal, and may determine a measurement such asan RSRP associated with the monitoring signal. The determinedmeasurement may enable the UE 120 to detect, for example, if a blockagehas occurred. In some aspects, the measurement may include, for example,a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an RSSI, an amount of power headroom, anamount of power consumed per unit of time associated with using atransmission antenna, and/or the like. In some aspects, the receptionantenna and the transmit antenna may be components of blockage sensor335 (e.g., separate from antennas of an antenna module of the UE 120).In some aspects, one or more of the reception antenna or the transmitantenna may be an antenna of an antenna module of the UE 120. Forexample, the blockage sensor 335 may cause the antenna module of the UE120 to transmit and/or monitor for the monitoring signal.

In some aspects, the UE 120 may ensure compliance with a regulatoryscheme based at least in part on blockage sensor 335. For example, UEsmay be subject to limitations on the amount of radiation that can beabsorbed by or transmitted toward biological tissue. As one example, amaximum permissible exposure (MPE) limitation may provide a limit for UEtransmit power, with the goal of avoiding harming biological tissue nearthe UE 120. Based at least in part on detecting a blockage usingblockage sensor 335, the UE 120 can modify a transmit power or switch anactive antenna module so that MPE or other regulatory limits arecomplied with. In some aspects, techniques described herein provide fordetermination of weights for a beam search based at least in part on theblockage sensor 335, as described in more detail elsewhere herein.

The number and arrangement of components shown in FIG. 3 are provided asan example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewercomponents, different components, or differently arranged componentsthan those shown in FIG. 3 . Furthermore, two or more components shownin FIG. 3 may be implemented within a single component, or a singlecomponent shown in FIG. 3 may be implemented as multiple, distributedcomponents. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of components (e.g.,one or more components) shown in FIG. 3 may perform one or morefunctions described as being performed by another set of componentsshown in FIG. 3 .

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example 400 of a UE associated withmultiple antenna modules, in accordance with the present disclosure.FIG. 4 shows a UE 120 capable of conducting data communication in awireless network, such as an LTE network or a 5G/NR network. The UE 120may conduct the data communication with a BS or another wireless device(e.g., another UE).

To conduct the data communication, the UE 120 may include transmissioncircuitry and reception circuitry, which is described in more detail inconnection with FIG. 3 . The transmission circuitry may include, amongother components, a plurality of transmission antennas (e.g., antenna330, antenna 252) and the reception circuitry may include, among othercomponents, a plurality of reception antennas (e.g., antenna 330′,antenna 252). A transmission antenna is an antenna utilized fortransmitting a signal. A reception antenna is an antenna used forreceiving a signal.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the UE 120 may include, for example, four antennamodules: Ant 1, Ant 2, Ant 3, and Ant 4. In some aspects, an antennamodule may include a single antenna that is used for transmission and/orreception, such as associated with one or more of respectivetransmission circuitry or reception circuitry. In some aspects, anantenna module may include multiple antennas, such as a singletransmission antenna and a single reception antenna, multipletransmission antennas, and/or multiple reception antennas. In someaspects, an antenna may be used for both transmission and reception(e.g., by switching between transmission circuitry and receptioncircuitry). In some aspects, an antenna module may include an antennapanel.

A UE 120 may transmit a monitoring signal to detect a blockage, asdescribed in more detail elsewhere herein. In some aspects, an antennamodule may be configured to transmit the monitoring signal and/or toreceive the monitoring signal. The monitoring signal may enable the UE120 to detect a blockage associated with an antenna module. In someaspects, a reception antenna may be placed adjacent to the associatedtransmission antenna to configure the reception antenna to receive theone or more monitoring signals that enable the UE 120 to detect ablockage of the antenna module.

The number and arrangement of antennas shown in FIG. 4 are provided asan example. For instance, there may be additional antennas (e.g., fiveor more) or fewer antennas (e.g., two or three) than those shown in FIG.4 . In some aspects, the transmission and reception antennas may bearranged differently than shown in FIG. 4 . Furthermore, a transmissionantenna and a reception antenna shown in FIG. 4 may be implementedwithin a single component, or a single transmission antenna or a singlereception antenna shown in FIG. 4 may be implemented as multiple,distributed components.

As indicated above, FIG. 4 is provided as an example. Other examples maydiffer from what is described with regard to FIG. 4 .

A UE (e.g., UE 120) may perform a beam search to identify a suitableserving beam for the UE. A serving beam is a beam used by the UE totransmit or receive signaling, such as control signaling or datasignaling. The UE may perform the beam search based at least in part onsignaling on a plurality of beams. For example, a BS (e.g., BS 110) maytransmit a reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block set)on the plurality of beams. The UE may perform a beam measurement on oneor more receive beams (e.g., via one or more receive antennas) toidentify a best beam pair. For example, the beam measurement maygenerally indicate a signal strength of the synchronization signal blockset on a given beam pair. A beam pair includes a transmit beam(generated by the BS 110) and a receive beam (generated by the UE 120).

In some cases, the UE may perform a beam search based at least in parton a measurement schedule. A measurement schedule may indicate trackingopportunities associated with a plurality of antenna modules. The UE mayperform a beam measurement for a given antenna module on a trackingopportunity associated with the given antenna module. A trackingopportunity is a time and/or frequency resource (or set of resources) inwhich beam measurement is performed for an antenna module. In someaspects, a tracking opportunity may correspond to a configuredmeasurement resource. By performing a series of beam measurements in aseries of tracking opportunities in accordance with a measurementschedule, the UE may perform a beam search. In some cases, a set ofantenna modules may be associated with respective weights in ameasurement schedule. A weight, for an antenna module, may indicate howoften the antenna module's tracking opportunities occur in a measurementschedule relative to other antenna modules' tracking opportunities. Forexample, if a measurement schedule includes tracking opportunities forfour equally weighted antenna modules, then the measurement schedule mayinclude a same number of tracking opportunities for each of the fourantenna modules, and/or the tracking opportunities for each of the fourantenna modules may occur equally often (e.g., with the same frequencyof occurrence). This is illustrated in FIG. 6 . In some deployments,tracking opportunities may be distributed in time, and may be separatedby a synchronization signal block periodicity (e.g., 20 ms, or anotherlength of time). Thus, the UE may perform a beam measurement for a firstset of beams (e.g., a first antenna module) in a first trackingopportunity, and may wait for the synchronization signal blockperiodicity until a performing a beam measurement for a second set ofbeams (e.g., a second antenna module) in a second tracking opportunity.

There are various scenarios in which equally weighting trackingopportunities for each antenna module may be suboptimal. For example, afirst antenna module may often be associated with poorer beamperformance than a second antenna module, due to a location of the firstantenna module on the UE, a blockage, or the like. Thus, modifying theweights of the first antenna module and/or the second antenna module sothat the first antenna module is associated with fewer trackingopportunities than the second antenna module may improve utilization ofmeasurement resources of the UE, thereby reducing resource consumptionand power consumption. One approach for weighting tracking opportunitiesis to assign weights based at least in part on beam measurements in thetracking opportunities. For example, if a particular antenna module isassociated with a poor beam measurement (such as based at least in parton a measurement of a reference signal transmitted via a beam receivedby the particular antenna module), then the UE or the BS could reduce aweight associated with the particular antenna module (so that beammeasurements of the particular antenna module are less frequent thanbeam measurements of other antenna module(s) of the UE).

However, beam measurement based weighting of tracking opportunities mayinvolve significant delay and overhead, since synchronization signalblock sets are spaced from each other by a length of time. For example,in the case of equal weights, four antenna modules, and a 20 mssynchronization signal block periodicity, the UE may perform beammeasurements for each antenna module only every 80 ms. If a weight of anantenna module is reduced so that the antenna module is measured half asoften as the other three antenna modules, then the UE may perform beammeasurements for the antenna module even less frequently. Furthermore,some causes of poor antenna module performance (e.g., blockages,clusters in the channel, or the like) may change more frequently thanthe beam measurements can be performed. The delay in performing beammeasurements can cause delays in communications, missed communications(such as associated with an active time of a discontinuous receptioncycle), negative user experiences, and increased warm up time for aconnected-mode discontinuous reception (C-DRX) cycle.

Some techniques and apparatuses described herein provide configurationof beam measurement based at least in part on a blockage sensor of a UE.For example, the UE may determine weights for tracking opportunitiesassociated with a plurality of antenna modules based at least in part onthe blockage sensor of the UE. More particularly, the UE may decrease aweight of an antenna module (e.g., so that tracking opportunitiesassociated with the antenna module occur less frequently) based at leastin part on identifying a blockage associated with the antenna module. Insome aspects, the UE may skip a tracking opportunity associated with ablocked antenna module (e.g., may not perform a beam measurement for adifferent antenna module in the tracking opportunity), which conservespower of the UE. In some aspects, the UE may perform a beam measurementfor a different antenna module in the tracking opportunity (e.g., mayreplace the blocked antenna module's tracking opportunity with adifferent antenna's tracking opportunity), which improves mobilitytracking and reduces latency. In this way, the UE reduces latencyassociated with beam searching. Furthermore, by reducing delayassociated with beam searching, the UE reduces warm up time for a C-DRXcycle.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example 500 of signaling associatedwith performing a beam search based at least in part on a blockagesensor, in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown, example 500includes a UE (e.g., UE 120) and a BS (e.g., BS 110). The UE may beassociated with a plurality of antenna modules, which are described inmore detail in connection with FIG. 4 .

As shown in FIG. 5 , and by reference number 510, the BS may transmitsynchronization signal blocks (SSBs) to the UE 120. For example, the BSmay transmit the SSBs using a plurality of transmit beams to facilitatea beam search by the UE. In some aspects, the BS may transmit the SSBsin accordance with an SSB periodicity, which may be configured by thebase station or indicated in system information. An SSB is sometimesreferred to as a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channelblock.

As shown by reference number 520, the UE may perform a blockage sensingoperation. For example, the UE may perform the blockage sensingoperation with regard to one or more antenna modules of the plurality ofantenna modules. The blockage sensing operation may include transmittinga monitoring signal on a transmit antenna and monitoring for themonitoring signal on a receive antenna. If the reception of themonitoring signal satisfies a criterion (e.g., based at least in part ona received signal strength or another property of the reception of themonitoring signal), the UE may identify a blockage with regard to theantenna module associated with the monitoring signal. In some aspects,the transmit antenna and the receive antenna may be the same antenna. Insome aspects, one or more of the transmit antenna or the receive antennamay be an antenna of the antenna module. In some aspects, the transmitantenna and the receive antenna may be different antennas. In someaspects, the UE may perform the blockage sensing operation withouttransmitting the monitoring signal. For example, the UE may monitor asignal (e.g., a signal transmitted by the BS) on each antenna module,and may identify a blockage of an antenna module based at least in parton monitoring the signal on each antenna module.

In some aspects, the UE may perform the blockage sensing operation witha different periodicity than a beam sensing operation. For example, theUE may perform the blockage sensing operation with a periodicity of X msand perform the beam sensing operation with a periodicity of Y ms (Y maybe defined by the SSB periodicity), where X is less than Y. As anotherexample, the UE may perform the blockage sensing operationaperiodically, based at least in part on a trigger determined by the UE,or the like. By performing the blockage sensing operation morefrequently than the beam sensing operation, the UE can identifyblockages and configure weights for a beam search with a shorter latencythan if the weights are determined based only on the beam sensingoperation.

As shown by reference number 530, the UE may identify a blockageassociated with one or more antennas. For example, the UE may identify ablockage associated with an antenna module (e.g., one or more antennamodules) of the UE. The UE may identify the blockage based at least inpart on the blockage sensing operation. For example, the UE maydetermine that a criterion is satisfied with regard to monitoring of amonitoring signal associated with an antenna module. A monitoring signalmay be said to be associated with an antenna module if the monitoringsignal can be measured to detect a blockage of the antenna module. Forexample, the monitoring signal may be transmitted by the antenna module,or may be transmitted by a blockage sensor associated with the antennamodule.

As shown by reference number 540, the UE may perform a beam search basedat least in part on the identification of the blockage. For example, theUE may determine weights for tracking occasions of the beam search basedat least in part on the identification of the blockage. In some aspects,as shown by reference number 550, the UE may decrease a weight (e.g.,decrease a frequency of occurrence of tracking occasions) for an antennamodule associated with a blockage, and/or may increase a weight (e.g.,may increase a frequency of occurrence of tracking occasions) for anantenna module that is not associated with a blockage. In some aspects,the UE may decrease a frequency of occurrence of tracking occasions foran antenna module relative to a prior frequency of occurrence oftracking occasions of the antenna module. For example, the UE mayincrease a periodicity of the tracking occasions for the antenna module.In some aspects, the UE may decrease a frequency of occurrence oftracking occasions for a first antenna module relative to a frequency ofoccurrence of tracking occasions of a second antenna module. Forexample, the UE may use a lower frequency of occurrence for the firstantenna module based at least in part on the first antenna module beingassociated with a blockage, and may use a higher frequency of occurrencefor the second antenna module based at least in part on the secondantenna module not being associated with a blockage. For example, for ablockage within a first range of the N possible degrees, the weight(associated with how often the antenna module is being tracked) isdetermined to be a first value, while for a blockage falling within asecond range, the weight can be determined to be a second value. In someaspects, the UE may perform one or more of the operations shown byreference numbers 560 and 570, as described in more detail below.

In some aspects, the UE may adjust a frequency of occurrence of trackingoccasions by a fixed amount based at least in part on a blockage. Forexample, the UE may use a first weight for unblocked antenna modules,and may use a second weight, different than the first weight, forblocked antenna modules. In some aspects, the UE may adjust a frequencyof occurrence of tracking occasions based at least in part on a lengthof time for which the blockage has been detected. For example, the UEmay use a lower weight (leading to fewer tracking occasions) for alonger blockage than for a shorter blockage. As another example, the UEmay use a decreased frequency of occurrence until a blockage is nolonger detected, then may return to a baseline frequency of occurrence.

As shown by reference number 560, in some aspects, the UE may skip atracking opportunity associated with the one or more antennas. Forexample, the UE may not perform a beam measurement for any antennamodule of the UE during a tracking opportunity associated with the oneor more antennas. In some aspects, the UE may skip a subset of trackingopportunities associated with the one or more antennas (e.g., may skip Mout of every N tracking opportunities, where M and N are integers).Skipping a tracking opportunity may conserve sensing resources of the UEthat would otherwise be used to perform beam sensing in each trackingopportunity associated with a blocked antenna module. In some aspects,during a skipped tracking opportunity, the UE may enter a low powerstate, perform a micro-sleep, or the like, which further conserves powerof the UE.

As shown by reference number 570, in some aspects, the UE may perform abeam measurement associated with a different antenna (e.g., a differentantenna module) than the one or more antennas associated with theblockage. For example, the UE may perform the beam measurementassociated with the different antenna in a tracking opportunityassociated with the one or more antennas associated with the blockage.Performing the beam measurement associated with the different antennamay reduce latency and improve speed of beam searching relative toskipping a tracking opportunity. In some aspects, the UE may perform acombination of skipping a tracking opportunity and performing a beammeasurement associated with a different antenna in a trackingopportunity. For example, the UE may skip one or more trackingopportunities associated with a blocked antenna, and may repurposeanother one or more tracking opportunities for another antenna's beammeasurement. In some aspects, the UE may perform only one of theoperations shown by reference numbers 560 and 570. For examples ofskipping beam measurements and performing beam measurements associatedwith different antennas, refer to FIG. 6 .

As shown by reference number 580, the UE may transmit a measurementreport based at least in part on the beam search. For example, themeasurement report may indicate measurement values associated withtransmit beams of the BS and/or receive beams of the UE, such asmeasurement values determined based at least in part on the beam search.In some aspects, the measurement report may indicate a selected beam, aselected set of beams, or the like. Thus, the UE may determine andreport beam measurements for a plurality of beams based at least in parton identifying a blockage of one or more antenna modules at the UE.Based at least in part on identifying the blockage, the UE can modifyweights of antenna modules for a beam search, thereby improving resourceutilization of the UE and reducing latency associated with the beamsearch.

As indicated above, FIG. 5 is provided as an example. Other examples maydiffer from what is described with regard to FIG. 5 .

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example 600 of tracking occasionsfor a beam search, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example600 shows a baseline beam search (shown by reference number 610), a beamsearch where tracking occasions associated with a blocked antenna moduleare used for other antenna modules (shown by reference number 620), anda beam search where tracking occasions associated with a blocked antennamodule are skipped (shown by reference number 630). Example 600 is for aUE with four antenna modules. Tracking occasions associated with each ofthe four antenna modules are denoted by “1,” “2,” “3,” and “4,”respectively. For example, a tracking occasion labeled “1” is associatedwith a first antenna module, a tracking occasion associated labeled “2”is associated with a second antenna module, and so on. A trackingoccasion that is skipped (e.g., in which the UE does not perform a beammeasurement for any of the four antenna modules) is denoted by an emptyrectangle. In example 600, antenna modules 2 and 4 are associated with ablockage. For example, the UE may identify the blockage as described inconnection with FIGS. 4 and 5 .

In the baseline beam search, each antenna module is associated with anequal weight. Therefore, the UE performs beam measurement for eachantenna module on an equal number of tracking occasions. While the orderis shown as [1 2 3 4], the UE can use any order for the beammeasurements, so long as the weights associated with the respectiveantenna modules are satisfied. However, by performing beam measurementsfor unblocked antenna modules 1 and 3 at the same frequency as blockedantenna modules 2 and 4, the UE uses measurement resources and delaysthe identification of a suitable serving beam, which is unlikely to beassociated with antenna modules 2 and 4.

In the beam search shown by reference number 620, the UE repurposestracking occasions associated with antenna modules 2 and 4 (such asdescribed with regard to reference number 570 of FIG. 5 ). For example,rather than performing a beam measurement for the blocked antenna module2 in the tracking occasion shown by reference number 640, the UEperforms a beam measurement for the unblocked antenna module 3. Thus,the UE prioritizes beam measurements on unblocked antenna modules andreduces delay associated with the beam measurements on the unblockedantenna modules. Furthermore, the UE can perform a reduced number ofbeam measurements (e.g., on a reduced number of tracking occasions, inaccordance with a reduced frequency of occurrence of tracking occasions)for a blocked antenna module, such as shown, for example, by referencenumber 650, where beam measurements are performed less frequently onantenna modules 2 and 4. For example, the UE may determine the reducednumber based at least in part on weights associated with the fourantenna modules. In the beam search shown by reference number 620, thetracking occasions associated with antenna modules 1 and 3 areassociated with a weight of 1, and the tracking occasion associated withantenna modules 2 and 4 are associated with a weight of ⅓ (since threetracking occasions associated with antenna modules 1 and 3 occur foreach tracking occasion associated with antenna modules 2 and 4).

In the beam search shown by reference number 630, the UE skips a subsetof tracking occasions associated with blocked antenna modules. Forexample, the UE skips tracking occasions associated with blocked antennamodules 2 and 4, as shown by reference number 660. In some aspects, theUE may perform beam measurements on a subset of the tracking occasionsassociated with blocked antenna modules 2 and 4, as shown by referencenumber 670. For example, the UE may determine the subset based at leastin part on weights associated with the four antenna modules. In otheraspects (not shown), the UE may perform no beam measurements for blockedantenna modules 2 and 4. In the beam search shown by reference number630, the tracking occasions associated with antenna modules 1 and 3 areassociated with a weight of 1, and the tracking occasion associated withantenna modules 2 and 4 are associated with a weight of ⅓ (since threetracking occasions associated with antenna modules 1 and 3 occur foreach tracking occasion associated with antenna modules 2 and 4).

While the techniques and apparatuses described herein are generallydescribed with regard to a binary determination of a blockage (e.g., anantenna module is either identified as associated with a blockage or notassociated with a blockage), the techniques and apparatuses describedherein can also be applied using a non-binary approach. For example, theUE (e.g., UE 120) may determine a degree of blockage associated with anantenna module (e.g., such as using a quantized scale with N possibledegrees of blockage, where N is an integer greater than zero). The UEmay modify a weight associated with the antenna module based at least inpart on the degree of blockage. For example, the UE may perform agreater modification of the weight for an antenna module associated witha greater degree of blockage than for an antenna module associated witha lesser degree of blockage (e.g., lesser than the greater degree ofblockage). For example, for blockage within a first range of N possibledegrees, the weight is determined to be a first value, while for ablockage falling within a second range, the weight can be determined tobe a second value.

As indicated above, FIG. 6 is provided as an example. Other examples maydiffer from what is described with regard to FIG. 6 .

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example process 700 performed, forexample, by a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure. Exampleprocess 700 is an example where the UE (e.g., UE 120) performsoperations associated with techniques for blockage sensor assisted beammanagement.

As shown in FIG. 7 , in some aspects, process 700 may includetransmitting a monitoring signal associated with one or more antennas ofthe UE (block 710). For example, the UE (e.g., using monitoringcomponent 808) may transmitting a monitoring signal associated with oneor more antennas of the UE. In some aspects, a blockage sensor of the UEmay transmit the monitoring signal or may trigger the one or moreantennas to transmit the monitoring signal. In some aspects, the one ormore antennas may be associated with an antenna module.

As further shown in FIG. 7 , in some aspects, process 700 may includeidentifying, based at least in part on the monitoring signal, a blockageassociated with the one or more antennas based at least in part on themonitoring of the one or more antennas (block 720). For example, the UE(e.g., using monitoring component 808, depicted in FIG. 8 ) may identifya blockage associated with the one or more antennas based at least inpart on a monitoring signal, as described above.

As further shown in FIG. 7 , in some aspects, process 700 may includeperforming a beam search based at least in part on the identification ofthe blockage associated with the one or more antennas (block 730). Forexample, the UE (e.g., using beam search component 810, depicted in FIG.8 ) may perform a beam search based at least in part on theidentification of the blockage associated with the one or more antennas,as described above.

Process 700 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect orany combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with oneor more other processes described elsewhere herein.

In a first aspect, the performance of the beam search is to identify aserving beam for the UE.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect,performance of the beam search using the decreased frequency ofoccurrence of tracking occasions for the one or more antennas based atleast in part on the identification of the blockage associated with theone or more antennas further comprises reducing one or more weightsassociated with the one or more antennas for the beam search, whereinthe one or more weights are used to determine a frequency of occurrenceof tracking occasions for the one or more antennas.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the firstand second aspects, the one or more weights indicate a number oftracking opportunities for the one or more antennas in the beam search.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst through third aspects, performance of the beam search using thedecreased frequency of occurrence of tracking occasions for the one ormore antennas based at least in part on the identification of theblockage associated with the one or more antennas further comprisesskipping one or more tracking opportunities associated with the one ormore antennas based at least in part on the blockage.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the firstthrough fourth aspects, no beam measurement is performed by the UE inthe one or more tracking opportunities based at least in part onskipping the one or more tracking opportunities.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the firstthrough fifth aspects, the skipping of the one or more trackingopportunities comprises performing, in the one or more trackingopportunities, a beam measurement associated with an antenna (e.g., adifferent antenna) other than the one or more antennas in the one ormore tracking opportunities.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst through sixth aspects, the skipping of the one or more trackingopportunities comprises delaying a beam measurement associated with theone or more antennas in the one or more tracking opportunities.

In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst through seventh aspects, the identification of the blockage isbased at least in part on a signal from a blockage sensor of the UE.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the firstthrough eighth aspects, the performance of the beam search is based atleast in part on the UE being associated with a connected-modediscontinuous reception cycle. For example, the performance of the beamsearch may be based at least in part on the UE entering a warm up timefor a connected-mode discontinuous reception cycle.

In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the firstthrough ninth aspects, the decreased frequency of occurrence of trackingoccasions for the one or more antennas is relative to a prior frequencyof occurrence of tracking occasions for the one or more antennas.

In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst through tenth aspects, the decreased frequency of occurrence oftracking occasions for the one or more antennas is relative to afrequency of occurrence of tracking occasions associated with a group ofantennas, other than the one or more antennas, that is not associatedwith a blockage.

In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst through eleventh aspects, identifying the blockage is based atleast in part on sensing a received power of the monitoring signal.

Although FIG. 7 shows example blocks of process 700, in some aspects,process 700 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, differentblocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in FIG. 7 .Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 700may be performed in parallel.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example apparatus 800 for wirelesscommunication, in accordance with the present disclosure. The apparatus800 may be a UE, or a UE may include the apparatus 800. In some aspects,the apparatus 800 includes a reception component 802 and a transmissioncomponent 804, which may be in communication with one another (forexample, via one or more buses and/or one or more other components). Asshown, the apparatus 800 may communicate with another apparatus 806(such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device)using the reception component 802 and the transmission component 804. Asfurther shown, the apparatus 800 may include one or more of a monitoringcomponent 808 and a beam search component 810, among other examples.

In some aspects, the apparatus 800 may be configured to perform one ormore operations described herein in connection with FIGS. 3-6 .Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus 800 may be configured toperform one or more processes described herein, such as process 700 ofFIG. 7 . In some aspects, the apparatus 800 and/or one or morecomponents shown in FIG. 8 may include one or more components of the UEdescribed above in connection with FIG. 2 . Additionally, oralternatively, one or more components shown in FIG. 8 may be implementedwithin one or more components described above in connection with FIG. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set ofcomponents may be implemented at least in part as software stored in amemory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may beimplemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium and executable by a controller or a processorto perform the functions or operations of the component.

The reception component 802 may receive communications, such asreference signals, control information, data communications, or acombination thereof, from the apparatus 806. The reception component 802may provide received communications to one or more other components ofthe apparatus 800. In some aspects, the reception component 802 mayperform signal processing on the received communications (such asfiltering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion,demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interferencecancellation, or decoding, among other examples), and may provide theprocessed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus806. In some aspects, the reception component 802 may include one ormore antennas, a demodulator, a MIMO detector, a receive processor, acontroller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UEdescribed above in connection with FIG. 2 .

The transmission component 804 may transmit communications, such asreference signals, control information, data communications, or acombination thereof, to the apparatus 806. In some aspects, one or moreother components of the apparatus 806 may generate communications andmay provide the generated communications to the transmission component804 for transmission to the apparatus 806. In some aspects, thetransmission component 804 may perform signal processing on thegenerated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation,digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, orencoding, among other examples), and may transmit the processed signalsto the apparatus 806. In some aspects, the transmission component 804may include one or more antennas, a modulator, a transmit MIMOprocessor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or acombination thereof, of the UE described above in connection with FIG. 2. In some aspects, the transmission component 804 may be co-located withthe reception component 802 in a transceiver.

The transmission component 804 may transmit a monitoring signalassociated with one or more antennas of the apparatus 800. Themonitoring component 808 may monitor one or more antennas. Themonitoring component 808 may identify a blockage associated with the oneor more antennas based at least in part on the monitoring of the one ormore antennas and/or based at least in part on a monitoring signaltransmitted using the one or more antennas. In some aspects, themonitoring component 808 may include one or more antennas, ademodulator, a MIMO detector, a receive processor, acontroller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UEdescribed above in connection with FIG. 2 . In some aspects, themonitoring component 808 may include blockage sensor 335.

The beam search component 810 may perform a beam search based at leastin part on the identification of the blockage associated with the one ormore antennas. In some aspects, the beam search component 810 mayinclude one or more antennas, a demodulator, a MIMO detector, a receiveprocessor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof,of the UE described above in connection with FIG. 2 .

The number and arrangement of components shown in FIG. 8 are provided asan example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewercomponents, different components, or differently arranged componentsthan those shown in FIG. 8 . Furthermore, two or more components shownin FIG. 8 may be implemented within a single component, or a singlecomponent shown in FIG. 8 may be implemented as multiple, distributedcomponents. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of (one or more)components shown in FIG. 8 may perform one or more functions describedas being performed by another set of components shown in FIG. 8 .

The following provides an overview of some Aspects of the presentdisclosure:

Aspect 1: A method of wireless communication performed by a userequipment (UE), comprising: transmitting a monitoring signal associatedwith one or more antennas of the UE; identifying, based at least in parton the monitoring signal, a blockage associated with the one or moreantennas; and performing a beam search using a decreased frequency ofoccurrence of tracking occasions for the one or more antennas based atleast in part on the identification of the blockage associated with theone or more antennas.

Aspect 2: The method of Aspect 1, wherein the performance of the beamsearch is to identify a serving beam for the UE.

Aspect 3: The method of any of Aspects 1-2, wherein performance of thebeam search using the decreased frequency of occurrence of trackingoccasions for the one or more antennas based at least in part on theidentification of the blockage associated with the one or more antennasfurther comprises: reducing one or more weights associated with the oneor more antennas for the beam search, wherein the one or more weightsare used to determine a frequency of occurrence of tracking occasionsfor the one or more antennas.

Aspect 4: The method of any of Aspects 1-3, wherein performance of thebeam search using the decreased frequency of occurrence of trackingoccasions for the one or more antennas based at least in part on theidentification of the blockage associated with the one or more antennasfurther comprises: skipping one or more tracking opportunitiesassociated with the one or more antennas based at least in part on theblockage.

Aspect 5: The method of Aspect 4, wherein no beam measurement isperformed by the UE in any of the one or more tracking opportunitiesbased at least in part on skipping the one or more trackingopportunities.

Aspect 6: The method of Aspect 4, wherein the skipping of the one ormore tracking opportunities comprises: performing, in the one or moretracking opportunities, a beam measurement associated with an antennaother than the one or more antennas.

Aspect 7: The method of Aspect 4, wherein the skipping of the one ormore tracking opportunities comprises: delaying a beam measurementassociated with the one or more antennas in the one or more trackingopportunities.

Aspect 8: The method of any of Aspects 1-7, wherein the identificationof the blockage is based at least in part on a signal from a blockagesensor of the UE.

Aspect 9: The method of any of Aspects 1-8, wherein the performance ofthe beam search is based at least in part on the UE entering a warm uptime for a connected-mode discontinuous reception cycle.

Aspect 10: The method of any of Aspects 1-9, wherein the decreasedfrequency of occurrence of tracking occasions for the one or moreantennas is relative to a prior frequency of occurrence of trackingoccasions for the one or more antennas.

Aspect 11: The method of any of Aspects 1-10, wherein the decreasedfrequency of occurrence of tracking occasions for the one or moreantennas is relative to a frequency of occurrence of tracking occasionsassociated with a group of antennas, other than the one or moreantennas, that is not associated with a blockage.

Aspect 12: The method of any of Aspects 1-11, wherein identifying theblockage is based at least in part on sensing a received power of themonitoring signal.

Aspect 13: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device,comprising a processor; memory coupled with the processor; andinstructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor tocause the apparatus to perform the method of one or more of Aspects1-12.

Aspect 14: A device for wireless communication, comprising a memory andone or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processorsconfigured to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-12.

Aspect 15: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising at leastone means for performing the method of one or more of Aspects 1-12.

Aspect 16: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code forwireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by aprocessor to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-12.

Aspect 17: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set ofinstructions for wireless communication, the set of instructionscomprising one or more instructions that, when executed by one or moreprocessors of a device, cause the device to perform the method of one ormore of Aspects 1-12.

The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the preciseforms disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light ofthe above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the aspects.

As used herein, the term “component” is intended to be broadly construedas hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. Asused herein, a processor is implemented in hardware, firmware, and/or acombination of hardware and software. It will be apparent that systemsand/or methods described herein may be implemented in different forms ofhardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. Theactual specialized control hardware or software code used to implementthese systems and/or methods is not limiting of the aspects. Thus, theoperation and behavior of the systems and/or methods were describedherein without reference to specific software code—it being understoodthat software and hardware can be designed to implement the systemsand/or methods based, at least in part, on the description herein.

As used herein, satisfying a threshold may, depending on the context,refer to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equalto the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to thethreshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, or thelike.

Even though particular combinations of features are recited in theclaims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are notintended to limit the disclosure of various aspects. In fact, many ofthese features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in theclaims and/or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependentclaim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosureof various aspects includes each dependent claim in combination withevery other claim in the claim set. As used herein, a phrase referringto “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of thoseitems, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b,or c” is intended to cover a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well asany combination with multiples of the same element (e.g., a-a, a-a-a,a-a-b, a-a-c, a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b, b-b-b, b-b-c, c-c, and c-c-c or anyother ordering of a, b, and c).

No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed ascritical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as usedherein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or moreitems and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Further, asused herein, the article “the” is intended to include one or more itemsreferenced in connection with the article “the” and may be usedinterchangeably with “the one or more.” Furthermore, as used herein, theterms “set” and “group” are intended to include one or more items (e.g.,related items, unrelated items, or a combination of related andunrelated items), and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.”Where only one item is intended, the phrase “only one” or similarlanguage is used. Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,”“having,” or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, thephrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on”unless explicitly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “or”is intended to be inclusive when used in a series and may be usedinterchangeably with “and/or,” unless explicitly stated otherwise (e.g.,if used in combination with “either” or “only one of”).

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communication performed by auser equipment (UE), comprising: transmitting a monitoring signalassociated with one or more antennas of the UE; performing a beam searchusing a decreased frequency of occurrence of tracking occasions for theone or more antennas based at least in part on an identification of ablockage associated with the one or more antennas, the identificationbeing based at least in part on the monitoring signal, the decreasedfrequency of occurrence of tracking occasions for the one or moreantennas being relative to a prior frequency of occurrence of trackingoccasions for the one or more antennas.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the performance of the beam search is to identify a serving beamfor the UE.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein performance of the beamsearch using the decreased frequency of occurrence of tracking occasionsfor the one or more antennas based at least in part on theidentification of the blockage associated with the one or more antennasfurther comprises: reducing one or more weights associated with the oneor more antennas for the beam search, wherein the one or more weightsare used to determine a frequency of occurrence of tracking occasionsfor the one or more antennas.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinperformance of the beam search using the decreased frequency ofoccurrence of tracking occasions for the one or more antennas based atleast in part on the identification of the blockage associated with theone or more antennas further comprises: skipping one or more trackingopportunities associated with the one or more antennas based at least inpart on the blockage.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein no beammeasurement is performed by the UE in any of the one or more trackingopportunities based at least in part on skipping the one or moretracking opportunities.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the skippingof the one or more tracking opportunities comprises: performing, in theone or more tracking opportunities, a beam measurement associated withan antenna other than the one or more antennas.
 7. The method of claim4, wherein the skipping of the one or more tracking opportunitiescomprises: delaying a beam measurement associated with the one or moreantennas in the one or more tracking opportunities.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the identification of the blockage is based at least inpart on a signal from a blockage sensor of the UE.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the performance of the beam search is based at least inpart on the UE entering a warm up time for a connected-modediscontinuous reception cycle.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein thedecreased frequency of occurrence of tracking occasions for the one ormore antennas is relative to a frequency of occurrence of trackingoccasions associated with a group of antennas, other than the one ormore antennas, that is not associated with a blockage.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, wherein identifying the blockage is based at least in part onsensing a received power of the monitoring signal.
 12. A user equipment(UE) for wireless communication, comprising: a memory; and one or moreprocessors, coupled to the memory, configured to: transmit a monitoringsignal associated with one or more antennas; and perform a beam searchusing a decreased frequency of occurrence of tracking occasions for theone or more antennas based at least in part on an identification of ablockage associated with the one or more antennas, the identificationbeing based at least in part on the monitoring signal, the decreasedfrequency of occurrence of tracking occasions for the one or moreantennas being relative to a prior frequency of occurrence of trackingoccasions for the one or more antennas.
 13. The UE of claim 12, whereinthe performance of the beam search is to identify a serving beam for theUE.
 14. The UE of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors, toperform the beam search using the decreased frequency of occurrence oftracking occasions for the one or more antennas based at least in parton the identification of the blockage associated with the one or moreantennas, are configured to: reduce one or more weights associated withthe one or more antennas for the beam search.
 15. The UE of claim 12,wherein the one or more processors, to perform the beam search using thedecreased frequency of occurrence of tracking occasions for the one ormore antennas based at least in part on the identification of theblockage associated with the one or more antennas, are configured to:skip one or more tracking opportunities associated with the one or moreantennas based at least in part on the blockage.
 16. The UE of claim 15,wherein no beam measurement is performed by the UE in the one or moretracking opportunities based at least in part on skipping the one ormore tracking opportunities.
 17. The UE of claim 15, wherein the one ormore processors, to skip the one or more tracking opportunities, areconfigured to: perform a beam measurement associated with a differentantenna than the one or more antennas in the one or more trackingopportunities.
 18. The UE of claim 15, wherein the one or moreprocessors, to skip the one or more tracking opportunities, areconfigured to: delay a beam measurement associated with the one or moreantennas in the one or more tracking opportunities.
 19. The UE of claim12, wherein the identification of the blockage is based at least in parton a signal from a blockage sensor of the UE.
 20. The UE of claim 12,wherein the decreased frequency of occurrence of tracking occasions forthe one or more antennas is relative to a frequency of occurrence oftracking occasions associated with a group of antennas that is notassociated with a blockage.
 21. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, the setof instructions comprising: one or more instructions that, when executedby one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to:transmit a monitoring signal associated with one or more antennas;perform a beam search using a decreased frequency of occurrence oftracking occasions for the one or more antennas based at least in parton an identification of a blockage associated with the one or moreantennas, the identification being based at least in part on themonitoring signal, the decreased frequency of occurrence of trackingoccasions for the one or more antennas being relative to a priorfrequency of occurrence of tracking occasions for the one or moreantennas.
 22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21,wherein the one or more instructions further cause the UE to identify aserving beam for the UE.
 23. The non-transitory computer-readable mediumof claim 21, wherein the one or more instructions further cause the UEto: reduce one or more weights associated with the one or more antennasfor the beam search.
 24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 21, wherein the one or more instructions further cause the UE to:skip one or more tracking opportunities associated with the one or moreantennas based at least in part on the blockage.
 25. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the identification of theblockage is based at least in part on a signal from a blockage sensor ofthe UE.
 26. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: meansfor transmitting a monitoring signal associated with one or moreantennas; and means for performing a beam search using a decreasedfrequency of occurrence of tracking occasions for the one or moreantennas based at least in part on an identification of a blockageassociated with the one or more antennas, the identification being basedat least in part on the monitoring signal, the decreased frequency ofoccurrence of tracking occasions for the one or more antennas beingrelative to a prior frequency of occurrence of tracking occasions forthe one or more antennas.
 27. The apparatus of claim 26, furthercomprising means for identifying a serving beam for the apparatus. 28.The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising: means for reducing one ormore weights associated with the one or more antennas for the beamsearch.
 29. The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising: means forskipping one or more tracking opportunities associated with the one ormore antennas based at least in part on the blockage.
 30. The apparatusof claim 26, wherein the identification of the blockage is based atleast in part on a signal from a blockage sensor of the apparatus.